I was wracking my brain tonight trying to come up with anything worse than Bush invading Iraq in response to 9/11, even googled 'missteps in history,' but to not avail.
Then I remembered The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman, sitting on my bookshelf steps away, and one of my favorite books. Published in 1984, it examines from "Troy to Vietnam," the "pursuit of policy contrary to self-interest."
What an incredible read.
If anyone out there tonight is interested in history, readable, enjoyable history, please pick up any volume by Barbara Tuchman, and if you're interested in historical blunders,
The March of Folly is definitely the place to start.
The first paragraph of the Introduction reads as follows:
A phenomenon noticeable throughout history regardless of place or period is the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests. Mankind, It seems, makes a poorer performance of government than of almost any other human activity. In this sphere, wisdom, which may be defined as the exercise of judgment acting on experience, common sense and available information, is less operative and more frustrated then it should be. Why do holders of high office so often act contrary to the way reason points and enlighted self-interest suggests? Why does intelligent mental process seem so often not to function?
From there, she goes on to examine the Trojan horse, how the the Catholics lost half their believers during the Renaissance, the unbelievably inept handling of the uprising of the American colonies on the part of the British, and finally Vietnam.
I can't even begin to imagine what Tuchman would have to say today about America's invasion of Iraq. She could write a whole new chapter, that's for sure.